Strange
by bluefire-elemental
Summary: Not everything is as it seems in Hogwarts. Something strange is going on with Harry and only a small and surprising group of people have noticed. Super!Harry, kinda. Creature!Harry, kinda. Slash pairings undecided.
1. Something Strange

Summary: Not everything is as it seems in Hogwarts. Something strange is going on with Harry and only a small and surprising group of people have noticed. Super!Harry, kinda. Creature!Harry, kinda. Slash- pairings undecided.

Warnings: slash (though I'm not sure who with yet), swearing, violence, abuse

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter and never will.

Chapter 1: Something Strange

Something strange was going on with _him_. Draco knew. Something was definitely off with Harry Potter. It seemed obvious to Draco, but no one seemed to notice. Although this fact did make him proud for his superior observing skills, it did worry him at the obliviousness of the people around him.

The first time he noticed something was off about Potter was when he was researching in the library. He had recently caught a brief glimpse of Granger in the hospital wing and saw that she had the eyes of a cat and cat ears on her head. Curious, he wanted to see what type of spell or potion would cause such a reaction.

As he had neared the potions section, he noticed a figure sitting alone in the back. Normally this would not have been odd, but lately people had been sticking together as the attacks on the muggleborns and half-bloods kept on coming. Curious he had crept closer and was surprised to find it was Harry Potter. The most surprising thing was that he was reading a book on Ancient Runes, a subject that would not be studied until next year.

Draco had watched the other boy for a few more moments, watching how the boy whispered each rune under his breath before writing it down expertly on a piece of paper. Draco continued to watch the boy before him when suddenly the Gryffindor looked up from his spot, nervous, and had waved his wand over his work. Draco had looked closer to see that the words and runes had turned to words on Quidditch and Defense. Draco was shocked by the show of power, but continued to watch as Potter laid his head on the table before him and closed his eyes. A brief calmness had spread across his features before he opened his eyes again. He had raised his head and looked around, seemly confused at where he was. He got up and gathered his stuff before hurriedly heading out.

The second time Draco noticed something off with Potter was in public this time- in the middle of the Great Hall in fact. It was during the middle of lunch and the Slytherin table was mostly silent. Draco had been eating his food when suddenly a shadow fell on him. Across from him, Blaise Zambini, a quiet and shy Slytherin, looked up and smiled. Draco turned behind him and was stunned to see that it was Potter smiling back.

"Hey Blaise. I wanted to talk to you about our Herbology project before class. Would you like to join me for lunch outside to discuss our ideas?" asked Potter friendly.

Draco turned back to Zambini expecting Potter to be turned down but was shocked to hear him say, "Yeah sure Harry. I was planning on coming over to find you." With that, Zambini raised from his seat and the two left talking and laughing like good friends. Draco looked around the Hall and was stunned to find that no one had noticed. NO ONE HAD FREAKIN NOTICED! The only other person who seemed to detect the peculiarity was Granger and soon even she turned her attention away. Curious, Draco followed the two out of the Hall and out onto the Front Lawn. As he neared the two he was stunned to find that the two were conversing in Italian.

The third time it happened, the change that is, was in front of Potter's two friends. The Golden Trio had been walking off somewhere together when Draco had come around the corner and bumped into Potter.

"Watch where you are going Wonder Boy!" sneered Draco as he stood up. Potter stood up gracefully, brushed himself off, and wickedly smiled at Draco.

"I am most sorry, my prince," Potter said, bowing low. He smiled sweetly at Draco before brushing by, saying, "I shall watch where I'm going next time. Perhaps carry a mirror around with me when turning around corners such as this one. Good day, my prince." And with that he left.

Draco stood there stunned, having just been shut down by the most Gryffindor boy he knew in the most Slytherin way. He turned to Granger and Weasley who were still standing there. Weasley was standing there smirking, but Granger was staring at the back of Potter worriedly, as he walked away. The two left after their friend, but not before Granger made eye contact with Draco. In that brief moment, Draco realized that he was not the only one who noticed something.

strangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrange

"Hello Godfather," Draco said, striding into his godfather's private chambers. Severus Snape looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow at his young charge. Draco never called him 'Godfather' unless he wanted something from him. Calmly, he placed down his book and seated himself in a more receptive way.

"What do you want, Draco?" he asked questioningly, getting straight to the point. Draco's easy smile hesitated for a moment before resuming.

"Nothing, my dear godfather, I just wanted to talk for a little while."

Severus picked his book back up, saying, "I don't want to hear your incessant chattering about some inane thing. Go bother someone else."

Draco scowled. "Oh very nice, thank you. Well if you don't want to hear about some weird things going with Potter, then that is perfectly fine with me", he replied lightly turning away.

Severus sighed and said, "Ok- what is bothering you about Potter this time?"

Draco turned back and smiled. "Well I thought you would find it interesting to learn that Potter is in fact a Slytherin."

"What is that supposed to mean Draco?"

"Well I've been noticing some odd things that have been going on with Potter. First, I saw him in the Library studying." Draco said smirking.

"Oh, I can see what you mean. Yes, a big difference. Studying, my God! And in the Library- who would have guessed," his godfather replied sarcastically.

"Don't be such a bastard- let me finish." Draco sneered. Severus raised an eyebrow at the swear coming from a 12-year old but didn't say anything.

"Thank you. As I was saying before I was interrupted like some commoner," Severus rolled his eyes, "Potter was studying in the Library- but it was Ancient Runes. And it wasn't just studying. He really understood what he was reading and was writing down the runes perfectly. I also saw him perform powerful magic that night. For a Second year at least. He changed all his books and notes to that of Quidditch and Defense. He was acting very odd."

"And later, during lunch, he came up to the Slytherin table. At first I thought it was to insult one of us, but he actually wanted to talk to Zambini. And Zambini acted like the two of them were best of friends! Imagine that! A lion and snake- friends! Especially with that Blaise character. If he wanted to be friends with someone from our house, why would it have been Zambini? There are much better people than him." Draco continued.

"From your tone, it seems to me that you believe that _you _would have been a better choice than Zambini. Could this be the bitterness from the train ride here coming out again? I cannot and will not listen to your complaining over the matter again", Severus remarked.

Draco just glared and continued. "I followed the two outside into the freezing weather", he stated. He looked up. He wanted to see how his godfather would react to the part. "They were talking…..in Italian. And the little I remember of my language lessons I know that they weren't talking about Herbology like they claimed they were going to." At this Severus sat up straighter and put the book he had been holding down.

"Are you sure?" he asked to the younger boy.

"Positive. And Potter was speaking it perfectly, without any flaws. They were talking about the history of Hogwarts and the Chamber of Secrets." Draco paused to let the information sink in.

"And then later, I ran into him in the hallway when he was walking with the Granger girl and his side kick. He was very Slytherin in his insults, if you could call them that. That's how Slytherin he was- I couldn't even catch him insulting me when I knew he was. He talked in the codes of our house and he called me Prince, like he knew our hierarchy. I don't know, Godfather, he's acting very strange- not like himself."

"I can see what you mean, but I have to admit that I am surprised that it is you, out of everyone who is so concerned for him. Why not one of his friends? And why come to me?" Severus inquired.

"Well I came to you because you were the only one that I could trust to do something. Flickwit and Sprout are not close enough to Potter. Lockhart is a complete idiot. Dumbledore would have overanalyzed everything and then would have done nothing, and McGonagall would have just gone to Dumbledore. Any other teacher does not know Potter on a personal level. You can sneak around this castle like no other and always seem to have an eye on Potter anyways, which I really don't understand." Draco replied, adding the last part on, inquisitive.

"My observations of Potter have nothing to do with you, nor are any of your business. And you have forgotten to answer the first question- why do you care?"

Draco sighed. "I was going to leave it up to Granger, since she was the only other one who seemed to notice, but then she went and got herself Petrified a few days ago. Funny how she had a mirror in her hand when she looked around the corner- Potter said he was going to do that the day he insulted me." He finished with a pensive look.

By this time, the professor wasn't listening any more. Instead, he was thinking back a week ago when the young Muggleborn girl had asked him for his help. He had turned her down rather rudely, he would admit, but at the time he assumed it had to do with some type of school thing. Now that he thought back at the event, he realized that the girl looked truly frightened. Not because of the dreaded professor in the dungeons, but because of what she was worried about. How had he not noticed it before? The girl had been close to breaking down at the time.

Severus turned to Draco. "I'll look into in Draco, if that is really what you want."

"Thank you, Godfather." Draco stood up and made his way to the door. He opened the door but paused at the entrance and turned back with a thoughtful look gracing his features. "Being able to talk to snakes as a Parsletongue, studying in secret, making friends with quiet Slytherins, talking in other languages, and knowing the codes in the Slytherin house- I don't know Godfather, maybe he is the Heir of Slytherin after all." With that last note, he turned and left the room leaving a troubled but determined man behind him.


	2. A Strange Answer from a Strange Source

Disclaimer:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I don't own Harry Potter,

And neither do you

Violets are blue,

Roses are red,

If you think I own Harry Potter,

Then you're messed up in the head. (FOREBODING!!!!!!)

AN- the last four paragraphs are taken directly from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, pgs 339-341, with some changes

Chapter 2: A Strange Answer from a Strange Source

For the next two weeks, the potions master at Hogwarts had watched the young boy hero in question. During that time, he had noticed the small changes that Draco had pointed out. Things that didn't seem like something the Potter Severus knew would do or say. Things like studying odd subjects, talking in odd ways, and conversing with odd acquaintances. By the time the weeks had passed, Severus was certain of two things: (1) the Potter walking around the halls of Hogwarts was not the same as the one in the beginning of the year, and (2) whether Potter had changed or whether it was a person impersonating him, Severus could not let the boy go without confronting him.

Unfortunately, the boy's end-of-the-year bad luck had caught up with him with the Chamber of Secrets fiasco. Bad news was that the boy was stuck in the hospital wing until the end of the year. Good news was that while he was in the hospital, the next best person to turn to was finally out, and Severus had every intention of cornering her into answering his questions.

**strangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrangestran**

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, please stay after class. I wish to speak to you both", called the Potions Professor over his students, as they cleaned up their books and cauldrons after the last class of the year

The two students mentioned looked up at their teacher, then over at each other. A loud bang and the breaking of glass drew their attention over to Neville who had tripped over his cauldron and knocked multiple vials of ingredients to the floor, which had shattered and sent their contents scattering.

"Mr. Longbottom, while I understand that you think it is necessary for you to be the clumsiest wizard this school has ever seen, I will not tolerate your stupidity in my classroom or around my general vicinity" rang the professor's voice in anger. Seeing the quivering boy do nothing, he quickly added on, "Well, what are doing. Clean it up!"

Everyone watched as the boy flew into motion, picking up the different ingredients and then running over to the closet to get a broom and rag. Soon, the class returned to normal as the students finished packing their things. Before long, the bell rang and everyone ran out through the door.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger. Up here please." Professor Snape said as he watched the last person leave.

"What did you want to talk to us about, Professor?" asked Hermione a little confused.

"Miss Granger, a week before you were Petrified, you came to me to ask for my help with something. I wish to know what it was about" the potions master replied smoothly.

Hermione glanced over at her Slytherin companion, who was watching with attentive eyes, before looking back at her teacher, mumbling, "Sir, it was kind of a private thing and I don't think it appropriate –"

"If this is about Potter and how he's acting strange, then I already know" Draco interrupted, examining his manicured nails, seemingly uninterested. "I actually realized it long before you did too", he added on smugly. Hermione looked on shocked as Snape rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Ok- well, as Malfoy just said, Harry has been acting odd lately. I'm not sure when it started exactly, but I know the change was subtle enough for people not to notice. If I didn't know all of Harry's quirks I probably wouldn't have seen it myself" Hermione told the two Slytherins.

"And why did you come to me?" he asked, curious.

Hermione gathered herself before answering, "I came to you because you were the only one that I could trust. Professor Flickwit and Professor Sprout do not know Harry closely. Harry does not like Professor Lockhart, and now we see why. I believe the Headmaster would have overanalyzed everything and then would have done nothing helpful, and although Professor McGonagall would have been a good choice to confide in, she would have just gone to the Headmaster with the problem. Any other teacher does not know Harry on a personal level. Besides, you always seem to have an eye on Harry anyways."

"Hmm, yes, I believe I have heard that before" he said, looking over at Draco. "What are some examples of these unusual actions?" questioned the professor lightly.

Hermione looked thoughtful, answering, "Well, there are obvious things like talking to people I didn't even think he knew and reading and studying twice the amount he usually does. But then there are little things like running his hands through his hair when nervous- something he hates to do since his hair is messy enough, or staring off into space a lot, or even smirking more than normal. And then there are the mood swings he seems to be having. At first I brushed them off as puberty, but truthfully with Harry being as small and malnourished as he is- he would be the last person I would expect to start now."

"Yes- those are the same types of occurrences that I have noticed and Mr. Malfoy has come to talk to me about. Mr. Malfoy here had thought that it had something to do with the Slytherin heir, I myself was questioning it, but we can see now that that was not the case." Snape looked thoughtful before asking, "Do either of you have anymore ideas, I truly don't want to run headfirst into this like a Gryffindor."

Hermione glared lightly at the statement before responding, almost hesitantly, "Could be an imposter."

Draco looked over adding, "Using Polyjuice potion."

"Or glamour."

"Or a metamorphesis."

The two students paused in their guessing, thinking. Hermione suddenly frowned, saying, "That doesn't make sense though. Some of the time it seemed like it really was Harry."

Snape looked over thoughtfully, stating, "If it was an imposter, they would have had to act like Harry. Perhaps just a very talented actor?"

"No- I can see what Granger means. The mood swings- they were also like personality swings sometimes. Like from someone else to Potter. An imposter would have known better and it is too fast for an imposter to switch with the real thing" Draco supplied.

"What about controlling Harry? With the Imperius, I mean. He could have been fighting it off." Hermione offered.

"Possible, but unlikely. He would have had to have a conscious effort to do so, and would have said something" replied the professor. The three were silent, each in their own thoughts.

"Maybe it's psychological" a timid voice said from behind them. The three turned to find Neville standing with rag in hand.

"What are you still doing here Longbottom!" yelled Snape, clearly angry that the boy had been eavesdropping, and without the professor's knowledge.

"I was finishing cleaning everything up, sir" Neville said, shivering a little in fear. He offered the rag in his hands as evidence. "I'm sorry I listened in, I thought you knew I was still here. But I still think that your problem sounds like a psychological disorder." He had added the last part on hesitantly.

The professor was seething, Draco was clearly annoyed, but Hermione looked reflective. "What type of disorder would you categorize this as?" she asked curiously. Snape scoffed and muttered something about Neville's intelligence one more time.

Neville ignored him and looked straight at Hermione. "There are only two things that I can think of that this sounds like. The first, and the less likely, is bipolar disorder, but that can only explain the mood swings and the new nervous tics. The second…" He let the sentence run off, looking away.

Draco, impatient, asked, "And what of the second?"

Neville looked back, this time focusing on Draco. "The second seems to be more of what you're looking for." He paused.

"I think Harry has Dissociative Identity Disorder, or more commonly known as Multiple Personality Disorder."

There was a long pause.

"I think your right" Hermione said at last.

Draco looked over and added surprised, "With everything magical in this world, I never would have thought that it would be something muggle."

"Psychology is hardly only a muggle thing, Malfoy" Hermione told him angrily. "If fact, there are many cases in the magical world where psychology has come into play. It might please you to know that You-Know-Who suffers from a severe case of narcissism."

"As much as I love to listen to adolescents arguing, I'm curious as to why the two of you have considered psychology" Snape said both condescendingly and curiously. "While I understand that Miss Granger feels the need to be a complete know-it-all, I don't understand why you seem to know so much about this as well Longbottom."

The two other students looked over curious as well at the now blushing Gryffindor boy.

Neville hesitated for a second before replying, "Surprisingly, Harry was the one that got me interested in psychology. I saw him looking through a book one day when I was practicing transfiguration. I was having problems and I guessed he noticed because he tossed the book over to me saying something about somatoform disorders. He said that maybe my magic didn't work correctly with me because my mind wouldn't let it. After that I got interested- I thought that maybe something in the psychology world could help my parents." He finished after that, drifting off at the end.

No one said anything for a while.

"I approached him" Hermione said quietly. Everyone looked over to her. "After I went to you, Professor, I went to Harry."

_"Harry, I want to know what is going on."_

_Harry looked up and answered, "I have no idea what you are talking about, Hermione."_

_"I think you'll find that you do, Harry" Hermione said back. He said nothing so she continued more heated this time. "Really Harry, did you think none of us would notice? You are not acting the same Harry- tell me what's wrong!"_

_He turned to her quickly, his eyes burning. "Do you really want to know what's going on!?!?!?!?! LIFE, that's what. God, Hermione, that whole effing world is what's the problem!" he shouted at her._

_"See Harry, that's what I mean. This is not like you. Not at all- since when did you think it was you against the world?" she all but shouted back._

_"Since the world decided to be a bitch and take everything I loved away from me!" he yelled back._

_Hermione looked shocked for a moment before saying softly, "But it gave you this life, this chance to change the world to something better."_

_"Well, maybe I don't want this stupid life!" he shouted, eyes wild. "Or maybe just not as the Boy-who-lived." Hermione was stunned. Almost as if whispered to himself, he added, "I don't care what Danny and Catherine think, Fell and I are right- this life sucks."_

_Hermione calmed herself down quickly before asking, "Who is Danny, Harry? Or Catherine and Fell?" She watched Harry tense as she said the names. Seeing this she added, "No one can tell you how to live your life, Harry. Nor how to feel about it. Not Catherine or this Fell. Only you can do that."_

_Harry snorted at that, like it was his own private joke, and then said, "Ok Hermione- whatever. I'm tired; I'm going up to the dorm room to sleep."_

"…and after that I was petrified and I wasn't able to talk to him again" Hermione finished.

"I don't understand. Isn't imaginary people telling you things a symptom of schizophrenia?" asked the Potions Professor after she was finished.

Neville nodded, picking up the train of thought. "Normally, yes, but Harry doesn't have schizophrenia. Actually the two disorders are completely different. Schizophrenia is marked by delusions, and auditory and visual hallucinations that he believes are real. You could compare the two, but schizophrenia is also known by disorganized thought and speech, as well as apathy."

"But then how is he hearing things and talking to people that don't exist?" This time it was Draco that asked.

"It's not uncommon for the personalities to be aware of each other, even be able to communicate with each other. Perhaps Catherine and Fell are two of the personalities. And according to your story, two personalities with contradicting views" Neville said.

"But then how was Harry able to know about Catherine and Fell?" Hermione asked confused. "Surely he would have said something if he knew about other…people in his mind?"

"There's a good chance that the person you were talking to wasn't Harry at all, or at least not the dominant personality, or personalities, that we know" Neville replied. "It could have been one of his lesser personalities that took over at the time."

Snape scowled at this new knowledge. "What do you mean dominant personali_ties_? There can be more than one?"

Neville looked over to the potions master and shivered a little at the darkened features, but being the Gryffindor he was, he continued, "It's quite possible that the Harry we know might be a combination of multiple personalities."

Everyone was silent, again, contemplating. Hermione posed the question that everyone was thinking.

"How will we know when it is Harry and when it isn't?"

Neville looked to her serious.

"At this point Hermione, we don't even know which one Harry is."

…

"We need a plan."

**strangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrangestrangestran**

Harry had been to several Hogwarts feasts, but never one quite like this. Everybody was in their pajamas, and the celebration lasted all night.

The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences --- Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were canceled, Draco was no longer strutting around the school as though he owned the place, and Harry was stuck in the Hospital Wing until the last day of term.

Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny got a compartment to themselves. They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and George's filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic.

The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped. And together they walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world.


End file.
